1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a built-in flash mechanism that can be implemented in a digital camera, a conventional camera or other video devices. By a step motor to drive a clip to release a buckle, the present is able to flick the flash up when the illumination is insufficient or it is manually switched on. With this method, a power-save, easy-to-use, and simple flash pop-up mechanism can be achieved.
2. Background Description
There are at least four types of flashlights utilized in cameras. They are hand-held, top-attachable, built-in and standalone flashlight devices. Among all types of flash units, built-in flashes are popular in both digital and conventional cameras. For built-in flashes, there are two types available: fixed and pop-up flashes. The present invention is a built-in pop-up flash, which will popup manually, or pop-up when insufficient illumination is detected.
In addition, the existing built-in pop-up flash unit utilizes a two-way electromagnetic valve, which has drawbacks, such as complicated structure and large force needed to hold the flash inside the camera housing or to pop up the flash, requiring larger activation force. Besides, the necessary current of the two-way electromagnetic valve is larger, thus consuming the precious battery power.
To surmount the drawbacks aforementioned, the present invention utilizes a motor to lock the flashlight unit and further utilizes elasticity of a spring to release the flashlight unit when the motor unlocks it. Thus, a less power consumption and easy-to-use with simple structure of the flash device is achieved.